Walk In My Shoes
by pandora midnight blue
Summary: Thor is sent to an alternate universe to help him understand what life is like in the Trickster's shoes. Loki sends Thor to a world where Thor and his army are invading earth and the Avengers have assembled to put a stop to his plans.How will Thor survive in a world where he is known as the overshadowed, broken and adopted son of Odin and Frigga?
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello Everyone.**_

_**I really shouldn't be starting another story when I have two left to finish, but I couldn't help myself. This has been swimming around in my head for some time now, and I think it could be fun the write.**_

_**This story is set in the midst of the Avengers Assemble movie; right after Loki threw Tony out of the window .It is AU from then on.**_

_****_

"You must understand why I am doing this Thor!" Loki yelled from his perch on the balcony of Stark Tower. Thor eyed his brother carefully as he entered the mangled living space of Tony Stark. He had dark circles under his emerald eyes and his gaunt face was littered with yellowing bruises and grazes. Thor noted that some of his brother's injuries were not the result of the battle they were fighting on Midgard.

"What happened to you Loki?" Thor asked "What drove you to wage war on a race that has shown us no aggression?"

"No aggression?" Loki snorted. "Look around you Thor, does this look like the work of a peaceful race?" Loki gestured to the remains of Tony Stark's penthouse. "This man made his fortune selling dangerous weapons to the highest bidder. Are humanity really that peaceful?"

"You twist my words Brother!" Thor replied.

"You need to learn what it is like to walk in my shoes Brother!" Loki threatened, before he sent a pulse of green energy flying towards Thor. "If only you could see things how they really are instead of through those sheltered eyes of your's, you would understand the reasoning behind my actions" continued Loki

The God of Thunder countered the attack easily with a swift swing of his hammer. Loki swung his sceptre and struck Thor on the side of his face, leaving a long gash on his cheek.

Thor hissed in pain and raised his hand to gingerly touch his lacerated skin. Loki looked on, cackling at Thor's reaction. "Practical, isn't it Thor?" Loki joked "It is a powerful magical weapon and a surprisingly useful knife" he said, gesturing at the device he held in his hands.

"Brother, stop this madness and come home!" Thor pleaded with the Trickster God one last time. Loki responded quite fiercely "And then what Thor?"Loki spat "How can I return to Asgard when the man I believed to be my father only sees me as a political tool. All I am to him is a stolen relic!" Loki screamed. In his fury Loki sent another blast of energy towards him from the glowing blue stone embedded in the sceptres head.

Thor reacted by swinging Mjolnir into the stone floor of Stark's balcony. The impact of the hammer destroyed a section of the reinforced floor and sent shockwaves swimming towards Loki. Thor watched as his brother was thrown violently into the air, and back through the window through which Loki had just recently thrown the man of Iron. He was propelled through several interior walls before he struck the heavy load bearing wall of concrete and reinforced iron. Loki hit the hard inner wall of Stark Tower with earth shattering force.

Thor became worried when his brother did not move following the smash. "Loki!" shouted Thor as he rushed towards his little brother. He reached his younger brother's side and started to shake him vigorously. "Brother please, brother wake up!" shouted the Thunderer. Loki's emerald eyes suddenly snapped open and he firmly gripped hold of Thor's bicep. The Trickster's lips started to move as he recited a spell. Thor could not understand the language in which his brother spoke.

Loki's palm started to emit a glowing, bright light. The more words Loki spoke, the stronger the light became. Thor once again tried to reason with his brother.

"Loki, what are you doing?" the God snapped. "What do you hope to achieve by this madness? ...Brother let me go!" continued Thor as he struggled to remove Loki's vice like grip from his arm. "Think of Mother, Loki. Think of your family. We mourned. We thought you dead. Please do what is right" Thor appealed. While Thor's outburst had the best intentions, it was soon blatantly obvious that his sentiments had made Loki's anger escalate. The Tricksters face contorted into an expression of pure rage and his eyes seemed to glow an eerie green. He summoned his fallen sceptre and in a fit of rage he stabbed Thor through his thigh. Thor howled in pain as the sceptre which Loki had firmly implanted in his leg was twisted and severed muscle and sinew. "BROTHER!" screamed Thor as all his muscles began to spasm at one. He had no idea what Loki wished to achieve from this unprovoked invasion of Midgard, but it began to occur to him that Loki might actually be so damaged that he wanted his older brother dead. The power travelling from Loki to Thor increased ten-fold and Thor began to feel very weak. The sight of the devastated living room began to spin as his eyes played tricks on him.

"Loki, please!" pleaded Thor. "We are kin, no matter what you believe. We were raised as brothers and brothers we will remain".

Loki seemed to sink further into his insanity as Thor watched what remaining compassion vanish from his eyes.

"You just don't get it Thor, do you?" screamed Loki "For as long as I can remember I have lived in your shadow. I was always the second Prince, the younger brother. If you could only understand..." continued the Trickster.

Whatever trick Loki was trying to do with his magic was taking its toll on both Gods. Both Loki and Thor had weakened greatly and it took all Thor's concentration just to remain conscious. The power coming from Loki's spell seemed to be reaching its climax, and Thor really didn't wish to know what it was doing to both himself and his brother. Just before he was about to lose his battle with consciousness he heard Loki whisper something that made his blood run cold. Loki lowered himself to Thor's ear and said:

"You need to learn what living in the shadows does to a being"

With those last words Thor lost his battle to remain awake, and his world went black.

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_**To be continued?**_

_**What do you guys think? Your feedback is always welcome (if it is constructive).**_

_**Please Review.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hi Guys,**_

_**You people are amazing. I was astounded with your kind comments all week. Thanks for the support on this story. For those of you who worried that both Thor and Loki were verging on OOC, I'm sorry about that. I wanted to stay in character as much as possible, but an AU story will have them being out of character at times. Just bear with me please.**_

_**Enjoy**_

_****_

"_**You need to learn what living in the shadows does to a being"**_

_**With those last words Thor lost his battle to remain awake, and his world went black.**_

When Thor came to, he became immediately aware of the aching pain in his thigh. When he tried to sit up he felt surprisingly weak. He had a pounding headache and his remaining muscles screamed when he attempted to move them. Upon his first attempt at opening his eyes, he was assaulted with the vision of searing bright light which left black spots in his vision. Thor knew that by his physical condition that Loki's magic had affected him greatly; but for what purpose? From what he remembered of his brother's heated words, Loki seemed to be quite adamant that he needed his brother to understand his situation. Thor groaned in pain when he managed to haul himself up into a less vulnerable position, behind an overturned Midgardian vehicle. The fact he had a vehicle to hide behind was ringing alarm bells in the God's head, when Loki had overpowered him they had been on the top of Stark Tower. Upon further inspection of his surroundings he discovered that he was still in the same Midgardian city, due to the fact that he could make out the remains of Stark's Sky Scrapper in the distance. From the sounds approaching his position it seemed the battle was still ongoing. While he itched to rejoin his comrades in the fight, he began to wonder what had happened to his brother.

Had he not been leaning over him before he collapsed?

The Trickster's absence was strange, when just seconds before he had been appealing to Thor to understand him.

He could hear the approaching sounds of Midgardian weaponry blasting the Chitauri flyers from the sky, and the thud of their sudden impact with the asphalt. To his relief Mjolnir was still by his side. He once again attempted to stand but was rewarded with stabbing pains in his damaged leg. The sceptre had done major damage to his leg, but his enhanced healing should have kicked in by now. Was Loki's magic the cause of its delay?

Thor was very confused and he was confounded with questions. They only increased when he witnessed two figures emerge from the smoke ahead of him and seek refuge under the cover of a police barricade to his right. Upon closer inspection he saw that the two figures were Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff. The two avengers broke out in a heated argument when they had reached safety. He was about to call them over for help when he overheard something that made his blood run cold.

"We have to get out of here!"Natasha shouted grimly. "His army is just too strong". Clint seemed to disagree with her course of action; "If we could only take the hammer from him" Clint replied "his power would be drained away".

"How do you suppose we do that" Natasha replied. "He loves that thing. I haven't seen him drop it once".

She looked at her partner intently "I think we might be outmatched in this one Barton" she explained. "These guys are basically Gods; we don't have the weapons to defeat them".

Now Thor was very confused. Why had they wanted to take his hammer from him? He was their ally, not their enemy.

"Had Loki created a similar weapon?" he thought to himself.

Thor shook his head while he thought about the possibility. While Loki would desire the power of Mjolnir, he had many other weapons including that sceptre to inflict damage with.

As he glanced over the hood of the overturned vehicle he could just make out Loki tumble backwards out of the smoke followed moments later by... Sif.

"Sif"? exclaimed Thor.

What was she doing on Midgard. Had Father sent her as an aid in the battle?

All thoughts of Sif however were immediately discarded when he saw a third figure emerge from the settling dust of the battle field. Unlike Loki, this figure did not limp or grimace in pain. He walked with an arrogant air about him. Thor was reminded of himself before he had found himself on his banishment to Midgard. What made Thor seethe in anger was the fact that this man was holding what looked identical to Mjolnir.

Sif approached the figure and kissed him passionately before intertwining her hand in his. The man stood triumphantly in front of the obviously broken avengers with a sense of arrogance Thor could not easily miss.

It was as if... Thor did not get to finish his musings, for at that very

Moment Thor got his first good look at the man's face.

Thor's jaw dropped.

"This man was...but how could this be?" the Thunderer gasped.

Thor was staring at a man who had a strikingly similar appearance to himself.

Once the initial shock had lapsed, Thor began to examine his lookalike. While he had identical features, this imposter emitted a tense and often terrifying aura. It was soon very obvious that this 'Thor' stood for something the original Thunderer did not.

His clothing, hair and facial expressions were more akin to those his brother favoured. While the imposter's hair was an authentic golden honeyed colour, its styling was all wrong.

For one, it was blatantly obvious that it had been styled to sit close to the man's head, as if it had been slicked back with whatever feminine hair product Loki was known to use.

The imposter was also clothed in armour adorned with a combination of gold and dark leather. What made Thor even more anxious is that this man wore an emerald green cape which was attached to the armour at his shoulders.

The irony with the horrendous situation that Thor now found himself in was that he had frequently teased his brother for styling himself as such. Seeing himself clothed in such am undignified manner was unsettling.

Thor couldn't help but blush when his imposter broke away from Sif, and proceeded to place a hand around her waist.

The man then addressed the haggard remains of the avengers before him.

"You mortal's have failed to defeat me!" the imposter projected "You have proven that Midgard needs to be subjugated"

Thor's confusion tripled upon this revelation. These were the words of Loki. He had heard them spoken just before the battle, why was this man now claiming them as his own.

Thor began to suspect that Loki was behind this madness. From his hiding space he caught sight of his brother one again. The equally defeated looking Trickster was now struggling to his feet following his undignified entrance.

His brother got to his feet and assumed his full height. Thor watched as Loki started to confront the imposter.

"Brother stop this rampage now!" Loki pleaded "Stop this and come home"

The statement made Thor's head hurt. "What is going on?" Thor fumed

At that very moment his imposter raised his arm and lifted Mjolnir into the air. The man fixed Loki with a deathly stare before saying; "I will only return when Asgard is under my control, Brother" spat the imposter, who then took a firm grasp of Sif before lifting off into the air.

It was all Thor could do in his current state, to collapse back onto the overturned car and attempt to calm his aching brain.

The situation had stunned him. In the past, he would have charged head first into this crowd and demanded answers, but following his banishment he has become aware of the benefit of preparation and planning.

Whatever Loki had done to him before he passed out was probably the cause of this insanity. He needed to speak with his brother.

As he hauled himself up from his spot in the debris field, he took a good long look at his brother. Now that he observed it, there was something off about his brother. He stood with a poise that Thor had never seen before. More so, this Loki looked nothing like how his brother normally would. His raven black hair, which usually laid slicked back on his head, now resembled a tangled flowing mess and sat just below his shoulders.

Thor observed his brother and his tired friends as they started to regroup following their spat with his arrogant lookalike. Clint Barton made his way over to Loki and to his astonishment; Barton proceeded to hold a hand out to a limping Loki for support.

What surprised him the most was that his brother accepted his help. Clint patted Loki on the back.

"Well done back there man!"Hawkeye told his brother.

Loki shook his head modestly and replied "It was not enough to stop him though" as he made his way over to the remaining avengers.

The sound of Loki's voice made Thor listen intently. While his tone and his natural silver-tongued nature were identical to the Loki that Thor was familiar with, this man spoke with an authority he had never before possessed.

A sudden loud voice made Thor jump. "Where is Sparky anyway?" announced Tony Stark as he dropped with a metallic thud from the sky. Stark was supporting a jaded looking Steve Rogers.

They landed gracefully beside Loki and Clint. What confused Thor was that the Hawk, Captain America and the man of Iron seemed comfortable in Loki's presence. "You have just missed my brother" the trickster said as he examined his injured leg. "You just missed the big confrontation" Loki replied.

"Sparky?" Thor thought to himself. "That nickname was new"

"Well sorry to break it to you buddy" Stark said "But I saw something quite interesting on the flight down here".

"Sparky appears to be crouching behind that cop car over there" Stark said as he pointed in Thor's direction. Thor heard the sound of weapons being cocked and boots crunching on gravel as the avengers made their way to his location.

It was all Thor could do, but raise his arms slowly and try and figure out what in Hel was going on.

_**So, that was Chapter 2. What do you guys think?**_

_**Please Review! **_


	3. Chapter 3

"**Sparky appears to be crouching behind that cop car over there" Stark said as he pointed in Thor's direction. Thor heard the sound of weapons being cocked and boots crunching on gravel as the avengers made their way to his location.**

**It was all Thor could do, but raise his arms slowly and try and figure out what in Hel was going on.**

The God of thunder raised his arms in a gesture of good intention and stood up straight from his hiding place. His eyes darted between the faces of the avengers that had come to surround him.

While their features were identical to the mortal avengers that he had come to know, these people stood with an aura he had never before experienced. While Tony Stark appeared to be clad in a version of his iron armour, his reserved movements indicated to Thor that this man was fundamentally different than the boastful "Billionaire, playboy, philanthropist" he had initially come to blows with.

He observed how Stark, although encased in his bullet proof armour, was currently loitering in a cowardly fashion behind the alert figure of Natasha Romanoff. Though Thor hadn't known the man of iron for very long, the Tony Stark he knew did not present himself in such a cowardly and reserved fashion. He seemed almost frightened.

When Thor turned his gaze on Natasha, he was assaulted by an aura of stealth, power and stubbornness that he had come to recognize about the person of the Black Widow. Thankfully she seemed to be unchanged by whatever magic Loki had unleashed in their vicinity. She had a gun positioned tactfully in both hands. Both weapons, Thor realized were trained directly at him.

At that moment he could just make out a small red dot trail its way across his armour until it was positioned directly at his throat. It was quickly followed by four more crimson points each targeting a different position on his body. Thor recognized them as the targeting systems used by SHIELD personnel. Thor was certain that one of the red lights had come from the weaponry of the one known as Hawkeye.

The Thunderer now believed it would be wise to remain as still as possible to limit the possibility of being assaulted by SHIELD weaponry. He was not accustomed to the art of verbal negotiation, but right at that moment, Thor believed that it was his best tactic while he was trapped in this situation.

"My friends!" Thor started cautiously "There seems to be dark magic afoot, everyone is acting rather strangely. Please put down your weapons so we can figure out how to reverse its effects"

At that statement Thor observed looks of confusion coming from the avengers.

The group stood on tender hooks, Thor being unwilling to be the first to cave in the stare down he ws currently having with Natasha Romanoff.

Loki was the first to break the silence.

"Thor, what have you done?"Loki asked while approaching his brother slowly.

"Brother, do not play games with me. We both know that you are the cause of this bizarre...fantasy world" Thor replied. He was finding it difficult to verbalise the strange situation he currently found himself in.

Obviously his attempt at negotiation was not working as well as he would have liked, because at that very moment he felt an arrow fly past him, just shy of his temple.

"Loki!"Yelled Barton, "You knocked my arrow of course!"

Thor was immediately silenced when he realized that his brother had just saved him from receiving what could have been a fatal blow. Thor's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. The God's head was beginning to throb. His existing injuries coupled with his brother's strange behaviour had succeeded in giving him a migraine.

"There is something wrong here" replied Loki, while observing his 'brother'.

"Please refrain from harming him for the moment, I need to confirm something" he continued.

Loki walked slowly towards Thor and circled him. Thor returned his curious gaze and raised an eyebrow when he got to examine his little brother up close. It was rather unsettling to see Loki in his current state. While he seemed less... troubled than the brother he remembered, his appearance and many of his mannerisms were both un-familiar to Thor.

"I was correct" Loki said "It seems something is amiss with my brother"

"We already knew that Loki" Barton replied "He's bat shit crazy. He's a freak and..."

"Watch your tongue Hawk!" interrupted both Loki and Thor.

"My brother's magical aura is not present" Loki said after observing Thor once again. "It appears this is not the man I grew up with".

Thor could see the confusion spreading across the faces of the avengers as this news hit home.

"Then who the hell is this clown?" Stark asked while gesturing towards Thor.

"I am Thor Odinson" Thor replied calmly. "Heir to the throne of Asgard, brother to Loki, son to Odin and Frigga and above all else, I am a friend to Midgard."

"You do not need to fear me" Thor continued.

"If you are a friend to Midgard, why the hell did you spend the last 2 days trying to invade it?" Asked Stark

"Believe me; I have never done such a thing. I am a member of the avengers, just like you. Only a few moments ago, I too was trying to stop an invasion. However the instigator was not I, unfortunately it was my brother!"

With these accusations, the Thunderer saw his brother's eyes darting between himself and the faces of the Avengers.

Thor watched Loki close his eyes and start to massage his temples with his finger tips. It was a gesture Thor had witnessed before. A habit he had picked up when he was in deep thought.

"There is only one reason I can see for this ... abnormality" Loki responded, his eyes still shut tight.

"This man... my brother, as he identifies himself, must have been displaced. His magical aura is all wrong. I have never sensed it before in my entire life, and believe me, I know Thor's magical signature very well"

"This man comes from a different land, his very appearance here is proof of that" continued Loki. While examining Thor's current battle armour.

The tension that had been steadily growing during Loki's evaluation was at its peak.

Thor suddenly became aware of the battle that was still waging around them. A large number of police officers and military personnel had been pushed out of their positions and found themselves staggering into the clearing in which the Avengers and a very confused Thor were now grouped.

"We need to take this off of the street, and figure out what is going on here" interrupted Natasha. She was eyeing the number angry eyes that were currently staring at Thor.

"I don't care who this guy is" She continued, "but I don't want to be here when Loki's real brother gets back here. We need to fallback and figure out what our next move is"

Natasha spoke into a headset that was perched on her ear, and Thor saw the SHIELD vessel materialize above their heads.

"Fury wants to speak to him" she directed to Loki.

With a gentle nod from Loki, Thor followed his brother aboard the Hellicarrier, uncertain of what lay ahead.

_I am so sorry for the long wait for this chapter. My summer has been unbelievably busy. Hopefully I will be able to update soon. Please review!_


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